Sri Lanka’s men’s cricket team, led by Charith Asalanka, is aiming to recapture the glory days of the 2007-2014 era, when the team reached five World Cup finals and won the 2014 T20 title. After a string of limited overs series wins against India and West Indies, Asalanka believes the team has the potential to climb back into the top three of the ICC rankings.
“Our goal is to climb to the top three in the rankings,” said Asalanka. “If we’ve consistently been winning, when we go to the ICC tournaments, we won’t get exposed.”
Sri Lanka’s recent resurgence has been built on the back of strong performances from new players such as Janith Liyanage and Nishan Madushka. Asalanka believes that the team’s bench strength is improving, which will help them compete with the best teams in the world.
“We’re hoping to play our best XI all the time,” said Asalanka. “That’s how our bench strength improves as well, because they then know how well you have to play to get a spot in that XI. And the players in the XI also fight for their own places.”
Sri Lanka’s next challenge will be a series against New Zealand, which begins with a T20I on August 29. Asalanka is confident that his team can continue their winning ways and move up the ICC rankings.
“We are hoping to come back to that level,” said Asalanka. “It’s important to play really well from tour to tour.”
